Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Can this be Done

Ok here is an answer i got from a man here in town on the runoff i should get to my lil pond. He said my runoff from my pasture and the woods next to my pasture and the pasture next door to mine should be excellent runoff , but he told me i need to take a single lay off plow and dig shallow drainage trenches from pasture down to pond. So i'm hoping you folks can give me advice on this matter before i do anything. he said wouldn't hurt anything sense all i have in pasture is goats and a Jack. Need all the advice i can get on this. Thanks Folks

I think it might depend on your soil type. If it is loose fertile soil, you might wind up with some erosion with the misplaced dirt going into the pond.

Dave,
We half way checked out the soil and seems to be alot of rock ,not much top soil,about 3 to 4 inches down and we hit red clay and alot of rock.

Dewayne, have you considered terracing to redirect the runoff? That usually leads to water collection over a wider area.

The meaning of the word "terracing" in this context has never been obvious to me. Could someone elaborate terracing to increase watershed size, perhaps with pictures?

Theo I drew you a little picture that may help. I am not the best with paint so keep that in mind. With terraces you could possibly pick up the water that is missing your pond and running behind the dam. When they lay terraces they try to follow the countour of land and put maybe 1 or 2% fall in them to slow the water down. Hopefully my little art work will explain it.

Theo,
My Grandad terraced a lot of his crop fields to redirect the runoff water to the edge of the field to minimize erosion. It directed the water to the existing draws to avoid starting "new" draws in the middle of the field. His farm was in North Central Kansas that has some hilly terrain.

Thanks, guys, I think that's clearer now. I get the impression that terracing is much more gradual than ditches.

Thanks Folks i believe what you are talking about will work , i looked over the pasture and around pond and the last couple of rains we had showed very little runoff going to pond but more missing then hitting.I really do appreciate you folks and the info and help you give. I believe before long we'll have a good working system for our pond . will get some pics on here of the pond soon. btw is the green film on the water that has little air bubbles in it good or bad?

Dewayne,
Don't dig the trenches. Disturbed dirt moves with water. It will end up in your pond. Terraces are good if you want to redirect water into your pond or if you want to increase watershed size to feed "new" water to the pond. Sounds like terracing might help you.
The green film on top of the water with air bubbles is probably algae. It's normal. But, if you don't like it, you can get rid of it with an algaecide, microbes, barley straw or wait until the daytime temperature gets hot for several days and algae will go away.

Thanks folks , I'm suppose to talk to an fellow when i get back from florida vacation that said he'd do the Terraces for us. Hope you all had a great 4th yesterday,